Voluntary Agricultural Districts

In 1985, North Carolina General Statute Chapter 106, Article 61, known as "The Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Enabling Act", authorized counties to establish farmland preservation programs by ordinance. The purpose was to encourage the preservation of qualifying farmland and to foster the growth, development, and sustainability of family farms. In 1991, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners adopted the Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program Ordinance (see Chapter 45 below).

Voluntary Agricultural Districts are areas of Henderson County set aside by landowners for agricultural use only. These landowners recognize the importance of agriculture to the economic and cultural life of Henderson County and desire to preserve and protect their land from non-farm development. Members of voluntary agricultural districts receive increased protection from nuisance suits, rights to public hearings before any condemnation proceedings, and public recognition of their commitment to maintaining the rural part of their heritage.